The Ashanti/Bono Ahafo Manager of the Association of Ghana Industries ( AGI), Thompson Appam Attebila, has urged the government to put a mechanism in place to ensure “transparency and accountability” in the public sector to enhance the fight against corruption.
Mr. Attebila made this call on the sidelines of a workshop in Kumasi by the Transparency International of Ghana for civil society organizations (CSOs), trade unions and pressure groups to support anti-corruption actions.
The Sector Manager disclosed that corruption in the public sector has impacted on the private sector, explaining that public institutions regulate the private sector.
Mr. Attebila stated that importers, whose businesses are situated outside the regions in which Ghana’s two harbors are located, tend to incur more cost when transporting their goods to their respective destinations.
He explained that an importer has to pay a fee at every Customs checkpoint, hence affecting prices of imported goods in these regions.
He argued that if officials at the ports had been diligent in executing their duties, there would be no need for paying extra charges, hence the need for institutional reforms to ensure transparency and accountability.
Manager Attebila stressed that the laws of the country are enshrined in technical language, making it complex for a layman to comprehend, hence public officials are taking “undue advantage” of such instances to engage in corrupt practices.
Mr. Thompson Appam Attebila therefore, suggested making the laws “simple and understandable” to the ordinary Ghanaians, a step, he argued would help in the war against corruption.
